Perlas Pilipinas finishes second in BTSL Final

MANILA, Philippines – Discovery Perlas Pilipinas fell short to Tainan City, 82-67, in the Basketball Thailand Super League International Final held in Nakhon Pathom Stadium, Thailand on Sunday, May 10, settling for a second place finish.

The group from Chinese Taipei dominated from the tip, ending each quarter with a double digit lead that reached 28 early in the fourth canto. 

Nevertheless, it was a valiant effort for the women donning the three stars and the sun, who earned their place in the championship game by upsetting first seed and former SEA Games gold medalists Thailand in the semis.

Perlas forward Fatima Tolentino led the team with 16 markers but the Discovery Perlas would be outmatched with their opponent’s length especially with their starters playing almost the entirety of the game and the two-woman bench playing a combined 19 minutes.

Demonstrating this was Pingtung native Su Yi-ching who would be the presence anchoring the defense, leading all players with 14 caroms and four blocks.

Despite posting a 48 to 38 points in the paint advantage, the Filipinas would be unable to disrupt the offensive flow of Chinese duo Lo Pin and Liu His-Yeh, scoring 22 and 21 points respectively.

Guards MJ Jacob, Mary Joy Garcia, and Vangie Soriano all scored double digits for Team Philippines.

Scores

Quarter  scores: 12-23, 29-46, 43-68, 67-82

Tainan City (82): Lo – 22, Liu – 21, Su – 15, Chen – 13, Hung – 9, Li – 2, Pan – 0

Discovery Perlas Pilipinas (67): Tolentino – 16, Jacob – 12, Galicia – 11, Soriano – 10, Adriano – 6, Gloriani – 4, Flormata – 2, Francisco – 2, Siat – 2, Tiu – 2, Bautista – 0, Mendez – 0  

– Rappler.com